Chris Pronger names his pick for the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Pronger has spoken.
The Stanley Cup Final has now seen 5 games come and go and we have yet to determine a winner, with Game 6 scheduled for this coming Sunday. The Colorado Avalanche will once again get the chance to put the final nail in the Tampa Bay Lightning's proverbial coffin and in the process put a stop to what could become the most impressive hockey dynasty in modern history, while the Lightning will look to once again fight their way back from the brink of elimination to force a final and deciding Game 7.
Regardless of how the rest of this series plays out it sounds like there are some who have already made up their minds about the players that have distinguished themselves throughout it, and are likely to continue to doing so in the game(s) that remains. Among those is former National Hockey League defenseman Chris Pronger who on Saturday decided to declare his picks for the upcoming Conn Smythe Trophy.
Pronger didn't go so far as to say who he believes will win the Stanley Cup Final and therefore left himself an out by picking a player from each of the teams currently competing. The former defenseman was quite adamant about his selections as well, indicating that there isn't really any room to argue with his picks either. I for one won't be volunteering to be the one to argue against him.
In the case of the Colorado Avalanche, Pronger stuck to his bread and butter and named Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar as his lock for the Conn Smythe Trophy.
"If Colorado wins … there is zero doubt it is Cale Makar! NO DOUBT!! Mark it down," wrote Pronger on Saturday.
When it comes to the Tampa Bay Lightning though, Pronger wouldn't chose a skater at all. Instead the Hockey Hall of Famer indicated he believes that if the Lightning manage to pull off the comeback it will be off the back of Andrei Vasilevskiy's performance in goal.
"If Tampa comes back to win it is Andrei Vasilevskiy PERIOD! He has been unreal from start to finish. Mark these 2 picks down. Know one else compares to these two players! NOBODY," exclaimed Pronger via social media.
Do you agree with Pronger's picks? We promise not to tell him if you don't.